This invention concerns fuel injectors for internal combustion engines, and more particularly for connecting the fuel injectors to an electronic controller. The fuel injectors are mounted in a fuel rail comprising a hollow tube supplied with fuel under pressure. The injectors are each received in a seat in the rail and held therein with a suitable retainer.
Pressurized fuel is communicated to the injectors so that when an injector valve is opened, fuel is sprayed into an air intake manifold adjacent the intake valve (or valves) of the engine. The valve is operated by a solenoid coil housed in the injector and energized via electrical leads extending between a connector associated with each injector and the electronic controller.
In some designs, the electrical connections and solenoid are immersed in fuel, which protects them from the atmosphere which could otherwise over time degrade the quality of the electrical contacts.
However, some fuels are corrosive and neither the solenoid nor the connections can be exposed to such fuels.
In the past, separate electrical connectors have been associated with each injector for connecting a respective set of electrical leads to the electronic controller.
The leads and connectors are disadvantageously exposed in many designs, and installation of the electrical leads constitutes an assembly process in addition to securement of the injectors in their fuel rail seats. The connectors are located intermediate the length of the associated injector, and each contact pin must be hermetically sealed to protect against atmospheric corrosion tending to deteriorate the quality of the electrical connection. In addition, the connector body must be sealed at either end to the injector body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,382 issued on Jul. 7, 1992 for an "Electrical Connector Bar for a Fuel Injector/Fuel Rail Assembly and Method of Making" describes a connector bar which encloses the electrical connections for a series of fuel injectors.
The object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement for enclosing electrical contacts for a series of fuel injectors which does not expose the electrical connections to the fuel nor to the atmosphere, and eliminates the need for hermetic sealing of the individual contacts at the injectors, as well as to simplify the sealing of the connector as a whole. The arrangement also includes a retainer for holding each of the injectors to the fuel rail, such that the electrical connections are made at the same time the injectors are assembled to the fuel rail to simplify installation of the injectors and electrical connections.